In the news

FDA approves user-​​friendly device to reverse opioid drug overdoses

April 3, 2014

Family, friends or passersby who encounter a person passed out from a heroin or other opioid over­dose may soon be able to admin­ister a drug to reverse the effects them­selves before waiting for first respon­ders to arrive. The US Food and Drug Admin­is­tra­tion announced on Thursday the approval of an auto-​​injector device, called Evzio, to admin­ister naloxone hydrochlo­ride. It can be car­ried in a pocket or stored in a med­i­cine cab­inet and will be avail­able by pre­scrip­tion this summer.

“This is an extremely impor­tant inno­va­tion that will save lives,” FDA Com­mis­sioner Dr. Mar­garet Ham­burg said in announcing the approval.

It comes a week after Gov­ernor Deval Patrick declared a public health emer­gency to combat the growing abuse of opi­ates and recent spike in heroin deaths in the state; his dec­la­ra­tion allows police and other emer­gency per­sonnel to carry Narcan, a form of naloxone admin­is­tered as an injec­tion or for­mu­lated into a nasal spray (which is not FDA approved).

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